Chelsea ready for semi-final return against Spaniards after triumph at
Liverpool as manager makes peace with Brendan Rodgers over ‘parking two
buses’ at Anfield jibe

Jose Mourinho has claimed that Brendan Rodgers backed down from his outspoken criticism of Chelsea’s style of football during an exchange of text messages on Tuesday and believes that the Liverpool manager now understands why his team were defeated 2-0 on Sunday.

Rodgers had accused Chelsea of “parking two buses” at Anfield and, after the two managers did not shake hands on the final whistle, pointedly contrasted his philosophy with that of Mourinho.

“He will probably shove his CV and say it works but it’s not my way of working,” Rodgers said. “I like to take the initiative in games and let players express themselves.”

Rodgers was previously a youth-team coach at Chelsea and, according to Mourinho, they finally cleared the air on Tuesday.

“Brendan is a manager and is somebody I consider my friend,” Mourinho said. “Of course I know his words after the match, but I also know his words today, and today he told me congratulations for a great victory and a great performance.

“So, specially because I consider him a friend and someone I like, I prefer to forget the words after the match and I keep today’s words. He’s an intelligent guy. He watched the match for sure on video and, now, I think he understood what happened.”

What happened was a second masterclass of containing football from Chelsea in less than a week following their goalless draw away against Atlético Madrid last week.

It leaves the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night delicately poised and Mourinho utterly dismissive of those “pundits” who criticise an approach that has already made him one of the most successful managers in football history.

On the ball: John Terry is relishing life with Chelsea this season Photo: REUTERS

“At this moment, football is full of fantastic philosophers and theories,” the Chelsea manager said. “Full of people who understand much more than me. But the reality is always the reality.

"A team that doesn’t defend well doesn’t have many chances to win. A team who doesn’t score lots of goals, if they concede lots of goals, is in trouble. A team without balance is not a team.

“When Atlético has the ball, we have to defend. When we have the ball we have to attack. This is the football that I know. You have to try and play according to the qualities of your players and the qualities of your opponents.

"I remember in my first period here. If you have a goalkeeper like Petr Cech, who puts the ball in the opponents’ box, and a striker like Didier Drogba who wins everything in the air, why play short? Because you are stupid?

“If your opponents are very fast on the counter and want space behind your defensive line, if you give them that space you are stupid. So when a coach plays strategically and thinks about his team and the qualities of the opponent, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, they are good teams, intelligent teams. In this moment, depending on the coach and the club obviously, the critics speak.”

Mourinho went on to confirm that he wanted to stay at Chelsea “for ever”, a sentiment that is evidently shared by his captain, John Terry.

Chelsea and Terry are in talks over extending a contract that expires this summer. Mourinho has made it clear that he thinks Terry is still in the peak of his career and also claimed on Tuesday night that “the Champions League owes” his captain.

Terry, of course, missed what would have been a winning penalty in the 2008 final and then was suspended for the 2012 decider.

“When the manager says ‘for ever’, I’d say the same words,” Terry said. “It’s the club I’ve been at since 14. I want to stay here for the rest of my footballing days. We’re in talks. We’ve had big games around us so we haven’t spoken for a few weeks, but I hope it gets done. It’s down to the club, but I want to stay and I hope something gets sorted.”

Terry also firmly ruled out a return to international football but he admitted that he had been inspired this season by how many people had written him off when he was frequently dropped by Rafael Benítez.

“I didn’t get the opportunities last year,” the Chelsea defender said. “When I came in, I played well. It’s kind of frustrating when you don’t get a run of games.

“A lot of people in football ruled me out. That spurs you on to do well and battle for the club you love. I feel I have something to give next year. Beyond that, we don’t know but I hope so.”

Of whether he could be tempted to play in the World Cup finals in Brazil, Terry said: “For me, 100 per cent I’m going to be on my holidays in the summer. My thoughts are very strong on that, maybe people don’t realise how strong. I’ll be supporting the lads in every game with a nice bit of sun on my back.”

Terry trained fully on Tuesday after turning his ankle in the first leg of the semi-final last week and, with Eden Hazard and Samuel Eto’o, the captain is ready to start Chelsea’s biggest game of the season.

Mourinho also confirmed that Cech was out for the season with a dislocated shoulder after the Chelsea goalkeeper made an unexpected appearance at training on Tuesday.

“I wouldn’t put the team at any risk,” Terry said. “Walking off last week, for two or three days, I ruled myself out in my head but then things started turning.”